London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Il Rottomatore -- or `` the demolition man '' -- is how Italy 's incoming prime minister has come to be known , thanks in part to his pugnacious approach to politics .

Matteo Renzi 's nickname hardly bodes well for drumming up support in one of the most fractious governing systems on the planet , one which has speared all but one of its governments since World War II .

Then again , the 39-year-old 's backers say this football-fan Mayor of Florence is precisely the breath of fresh air needed in Rome 's stuffy halls of power .

Neither an MP nor an elected premier , Renzi has managed to wrest control of the party 's leadership by promising to smash the gridlocked reform process and shift its axis to the center .

How he thinks he will manage to garner more support than career politicians , like his predecessor Enrico Letta , is as yet unclear .

What 's more : Renzi had initially vowed only to seek the top job through the ballot box and not a leadership contest , meaning some are skeptical about what he stands for .

'' What Renzi 's done is gutsy , '' says Giuseppe Ragusa of the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome . '' But he is not going to have the public 's support ; he does n't have the votes from the electoral poll . So this is going to be a difficulty .

Instead Ragusa says Italy is hoping that by virtue of his youth and dynamism Renzi will have the energy '' to do something very quickly . ''

Something , being the optimal word .

Italy has been crying out for a plausible , long-term economic agenda for years , leaving the country wholly unprepared for the economic slump of recent years .

Often described as his country 's answer to Tony Blair , Renzi is good at talking the big picture , which is probably just as well because Italy 's problems are n't small .

First there 's a two trillion-euro debt pile to shrink , record unemployment , crippling and antiquated labor laws not to mention stifling business and payroll taxes .

Still , top of the list for Renzi , will be moves to create the kind of political stability where such measures can actually take hold .

This means ploughing on with plans to reform the parliamentary system in a move which is likely to cost the country its upper house -- or senate -- in its current form .

However , Renzi may be on a collision course with Brussels after suggesting the EU give his nation some leeway to breach its 3 % limit on the budget deficit in order to support a recent return to growth .

Vincenzo Scarpetta of London-based think tank Open Europe says Renzi will have to prove himself on the international stage . '' He is relatively little known compared to his two predecessors , '' says Scarpetta . '' So he will have to act quickly . ''

Yet if anything , Renzi is a long distance player .

A marathon runner and keen sportsman , Renzi already has an eye on the distant horizon -- saying he wishes to see this term through until the next election in 2018 .

Addressing reporters after being asked to form a government by Italy 's President -- as protocol dictates -- Renzi said it would likely take a few days to get his key people in place . '' But I assure you , '' he said , '' I will give this commitment all the energy I have . ''

Commitment is something this former boy scout is known for and at less than half of the age of Silvio Berlusconi , Renzi certainly has energy .

But he 'll need more than stamina to succeed . Above all , he must find support .

READ MORE : Is Matteo Renzi ready to be Italy 's PM ?

WATCH MORE : The future of Europe 's economy

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Matteo Renzi is incoming PM of Italy , a country with a fractious governing system

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It 's not clear how the 39-year-old will garner more support than his predecessors

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The country has problems including its two trillion euro debt pile and high unemployment

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But Renzi has shown he is a long-distance player -- and has youth and stamina on his side